Squadron Leader
by Tactical Strike
Summary: <html><head></head>Oliver Wood returns to Hogwarts to fight alongside his old teammates Katie, Alicia, and Angelina in the final battle, and what better way to fight than from the air? The story of the former Gryffindor Quidditch team's contribution to the victory. Katie/Oliver.</html>


**Squadron Leader**

* * *

><p>At exactly one hour before midnight, an air raid siren sounds in my bedroom.<p>

Wait.

Air raid siren?

That probably means – oh.

I leap out of bed and make my way over to my desk. The warning tone is blaring from my old Gryffindor Quidditch Captain badge, which I'd left atop a stack of parchment.

"_Silencio_." The badge quiets instantly.

Fully awake now, I've already changed into my flying robes and am reaching for my gloves when a silver lynx glides smoothly through my window.

"Harry Potter has returned," it intones in the deep voice of Kingsley Shacklebolt. "It is time to defend Hogwarts."

And here I was, thinking that it would only be a routine sortie – usually some Muggle-born family detected by Snatchers while trying to escape over the Channel on broomsticks. Usually we intercept the Snatchers, knock them off their brooms, and allow the evacuees to reach France safely. Occasionally we fail to locate the targets or we don't arrive in time, although I'd rather not discuss those instances.

But I digress.

Anyway, I finish slipping on my gloves and wrist guards, stick the Captain's badge in my pocket, grab my Nimbus 2300 from its stand, and focus my concentration on the bar of the Hog's Head.

_Crack._

I appear instantly next to the end of the bar and someone immediately collides with me, which isn't a surprise because the Hog's Head is completely full.

Actually, that should be surprising, I suppose, because I've never seen the Hog's Head anywhere close to capacity.

"Oliver?"

My old Quidditch team is gathered around the nearest table. Minus Harry, of course. Alicia, Angelina, and Katie are carrying their broomsticks – excellent. The Weasley twins aren't, but they never really prepare for anything, so it doesn't really matter.

"Let's go," I call.

We wait our turn to enter the narrow tunnel behind the bar. The passage up to the castle is silent. There is an implicit agreement that no one voice the implications of what is likely to be the final battle.

At the end of the tunnel is a room that I've never seen before. It's decorated with the colours of every House except Slytherin and looks like some sort of cross between a dormitory and a barracks. Many students are already crowded there along with fellow members of the Order – I spot Kingsley near the door, Professor Lupin speaking with some students, and Charlie Weasley, my old Quidditch Captain, with his family. After Harry himself arrives, Kingsley begins to issue orders.

"Wood," he instructs to me, "get as many flyers as you can. You're leading air support."

I assent and begin to gather every person who is in possession of a broomstick, which turns out to be my three former Chasers, two younger Gryffindors – Robins and Sloper, I think – two Hufflepuffs, and three Ravenclaws. When I lead my group into the corridor, I notice that we're actually in a seventh floor corridor.

As a matter of fact, that room isn't unfamiliar. It was where I had left Warrington after we had gotten into a fight in fourth year and I had hexed him unconscious. I swear that it was a broom closet back then, though.

The nearest classroom is empty, so we assemble to discuss our tactics. With a wave of my wand, I fill the blackboard with a map of the castle and grounds, then place eleven X's to indicate our positions.

"So," I begin. "We're going to be fighting the battle from the air. The enemy won't have anyone to counter us directly, but we'll be quite exposed to attack from the ground. Our primary goal is to provide support for the defenders wherever needed, but don't hesitate to use evasive manoeuvres if you're in trouble. Cover each other whenever possible."

I point my wand tip at the North Tower marked on the map. "We'll launch from here, then circle the grounds to look for openings. Don't fly low except to attack, because it'll make you vulnerable."

As I speak, the X's loop around the edges of the map.

"If the defenders are pushed back to the walls, then we'll fall back closer to the castle. Make use of the walls and towers for cover, and don't expose yourself for too long. Understood?"

The group members nod affirmatively.

"If you haven't done so yet, apply protective enchantments to your broomsticks. They won't completely absorb a direct hit, but close misses and weaker spells will be deflected," I explain. "The Imperturbable Charm and Shield Charm are good choices."

Alicia, Angelina, and Katie have already completed the enchantments when I finish my sentence and most of the others don't seem to have difficulties either, except for one of the Hufflepuffs, whose miscast Shield Charm sends his Cleansweep Eleven flying across the room. After that is resolved, we proceed toward the North Tower.

I've never seen the corridors in such a state of disorder. Filch is overseeing the evacuation of a cluster of first years who are scrambling about in terror. Small groups, three or four people each, of older Gryffindors and Ravenclaws cut through the crowd silently, wands drawn. Clanking suits of armour march double file toward the Entrance Hall. Several Hufflepuff sixth years push past beside them to take defensive positions at windows and balconies.

It takes us fifteen minutes to reach the base of the North Tower, but the ascent to the highest level is clear. I recognise Parvati Patil on the ninth floor landing, stationed at the arrow loops with two others, but we pass them, only nodding in greeting.

A narrow gallery rings the eleventh floor of North Tower, and it is there that we wait and watch for the beginning of the conflict below. Far above the hectic activity in the main part of the castle, it is calm, almost surreally so. The crescent moon peeks shyly from behind its blanket of clouds, casting an even illumination over the quiet grounds. On a different day, a better day, the view would be beautiful, but tonight it only brings to mind the silence of death.

As I scan the edge of the Forbidden Forest, watching for signs movement, there is a tug on my arm. Katie draws me around to face her and unexpectedly pulls me into a tight hug.

"Don't try anything crazy, Oliver," she says softly in a tone that somehow manages to be both firm and pleading. "Please."

All of a sudden, the thoughts that I've been steadily suppressing for months break free of their bindings in a torrent of worry and fear and doubt and apprehension.

_Nobody knows what today will bring._

_I may not come back today._

_Harry could fail._

_We may lose this battle._

It's said that what is hidden in the innermost depths of the heart is only revealed when looking death in the face. For the first time, I reflect about what I'm really preparing to do – join the final stand against the most powerful force of Dark Wizards ever assembled, riding nothing but a wooden stick – and the thought that I've never dared to acknowledge hits me.

_Katie may not come back today._

Almost as quickly as the flood comes, I force it back, banish it from my head, raise the floodgates, and put the situation back under control, but it's had its effects.

"You too, Katie," I reply quietly. We break the embrace reluctantly, and I solemnly regard her eyes, wide pools of emerald that reflect the moonlight stunningly. "Fly well." She nods firmly.

Distant blasts shatter the calm – the enemy attack has begun. Green streaks, hundreds of them, from spells arc into the sky, creating a field of dazzling starbursts as they impact against Hogwarts's magical defences.

My moment of weakness is over.

This is it.

"Go, go, go!" I mount my Nimbus, shouting for the others to follow me. The take-off is comfortably familiar yet refreshingly pleasant, the wind lightly caressing my hair and tugging at my sleeves. Below, the battlefield blazes as the combatants draw first blood. I'm already forming a tactical overview out of pure instinct; the main enemy force is directly ahead and a smaller concentration is approaching from the west, by the lakeside.

"Angelina, take some others and head for the smaller group to the west," I order, pointing at the lake. "See if you can slow them down!" The oldest of the three former Gryffindor Chasers breaks left, trailed closely by Robins, Sloper and the two Hufflepuffs.

That leaves me with Katie, Alicia, and the Ravenclaws. We swing around to the northeast in a wide arc, skirting the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

"Form up!" Katie, Alicia and I pull into a Hawkshead Formation, the Ravenclaws doing the same just above us. "Closer!" I shout, flattening myself to my broom handle. "Closer!" The Chasers pull further toward the centre, their elbows almost level with my knees.

We approach the enemy rear as they advance into the grounds. We're also undetected – this will be the only chance for us to make a surprise attack.

"Let's make the first shot count. Dive!"

I'm a Keeper. Very rarely do I have to make fifty-meter vertical dives and it's not a sensation that I particularly enjoy, so I almost lose my orientation on this one, but I realise what's happening when Katie and Alicia are already pulling slightly ahead of me. The target is the centre of the ranks of Death Eaters. I point my wand directly ahead (or down?).

"_Confringo!_" The incantation is lost in the wind despite being shouted at the top of my lungs. I exit the dive with a tight upward turn, propelled by the shockwave of the explosion. Obviously, we've been spotted by now and I climb rapidly to avoid the curses that are shooting into the sky all around me even as the enemy scatters from our attack. The Ravenclaws regroup behind me, while Katie and Alicia are ahead of and slightly below us. Alicia ascends, several spells passing harmlessly behind her, and Katie expertly dodges a dozen curses using a perfect Wollongong Shimmy.

Wonderful girl, that Katie Bell.

The castle battlements are directly ahead. The six of us speed over them into the safer airspace around Hogwarts Castle itself, slowing down to take cover behind the bell towers. I can see Angelina far away to my right, silhouetted against beams of light and bursts of flame, leading her group in a tight half-turn around the Owlery tower as they complete their attack run.

Exiting the turn, they make a beeline toward the main castle. However, the broom of one of them is ablaze – it's one of the Hufflepuffs, I see as they approach. While the others are climbing, his broom stalls, losing altitude rapidly, and he crash-lands atop the battlements, stumbling away as his flaming broomstick explodes loudly. I circle around, lower this time, and see that someone's helping him up, so it's not a serious injury – I've seen worse during training.

"Regroup!" I order, signalling with my hand. We loop around Ravenclaw Tower, spiralling higher and higher, with the remaining members of Angelina's group catching up to us.

From the height of Ravenclaw Tower's spire, I easily see that the enemy advance has reached dangerously close to the castle walls. The Owlery is close to being overrun; the swarm of specks surrounding it are hundreds of owls fleeing in all directions. Dozens of bursts of light flash every second from the Astronomy Tower, its defenders surrounded on three sides but refusing to fall back. A giant rampages outside the entrance courtyard, but is brought down by several thestrals and a hippogriff.

We need to fly closer for support. I descend, firing another Blasting Curse toward an enemy position as a jinx deflects off my shielded broom. Approaching the battlements again, I motion for Angelina to break off again; she takes her group in a sharp right turn, making a low run parallel to the walls and firing several hexes at the attacking force. I choose the opposite direction, a wide left sweep that allows us a brief window of opportunity to again engage the Death Eaters from behind.

"_Confringo!_" Simultaneously, we launch a barrage of Blasting Curses to strike the attackers attempting to scale the north wall. Some are incinerated directly, others flung off like ragdolls by the concussive blast or flattened by falling rubble. The defenders atop the battlements cheer and rally to mount a counterattack, driving the weakened enemy back. By now, we've lost any pretence of stealth, so we use our full repertoire of spells freely, scorching the earth with explosions and flash fires. Heavy smoke from burning targets rides the wind like waves, obstructing and suffocating and disorienting.

To avoid the counter fire from below, we fly in the castle's shadow, swerving around towers, weaving through arches, and skirting the edges of rooftops in an intricate dance that is lightning-fast and deadly. I lose track of how many spells I've cast, how many attacks I've evaded, how many times I've come an arm's width away from smashing headlong into a wall. After our third loop around the castle, Angelina and her group rejoin us around Gryffindor Tower, the furthest location from the fiercest fighting.

"My wand!" exclaims one of the Ravenclaws as the ten of us hover near the tower's base to catch our breaths. "I lost it on the last run!"

"That's okay," I reply, waving my hand. "See if you can land in the Transfiguration courtyard, then get to safety." She heads off immediately, worn out from the fighting. The rest of us stay in the relative safety for a bit longer to recover.

I haven't dared to attempt to get too close to the enemy on the last few runs, but they've already breached the main gates. If we don't take the risk now, we may not get another chance.

"Listen!" I call to the remaining flyers after a brief hesitation. "The entrance courtyard is overrun with Acromantulas! Let's clear them out!" This time, I take the lead on my own with Alicia, Angelina, and Katie directly behind me in a Hawkshead Formation, Robins and Sloper trailing them, and the other three covering from above. We advance from the east, rounding the Great Hall. The entrance courtyard is directly ahead, fiercely contested by three sides. Curses and hexes are flying in every direction around its perimeter, but the courtyard itself is filled with spiders each the size of a man.

"Come on!" I dive into a fast, low pass over the courtyard and motion for the others to follow. "_Incendio_!" A flame bursts from the tip of my wand, setting alight everything under my path. I'm joined by the Chasers and together we cut a blazing swath through the centre of the courtyard, burning a large number of spiders and forcing the rest to flee.

I roll gracefully to the left, dodging a Killing Curse as if it was no more than a Bludger. Just as the four of us in the lead clear the far wall of the courtyard, a deafening explosion nearly knocks me off my broom. Sloper, completely out of control, barrels past at an incredible speed and plunges, screaming terribly, from what is left of his broom into the flames below. We decelerate slightly to allow Robins to catch up; she's somewhat luckier, having taken evasive action and survived with only slight burns and somewhat scorched robes.

The remaining Hufflepuff and two Ravenclaws had escaped by climbing sharply, and we regroup at the top of Ravenclaw Tower. I send Robins off to seek treatment for her wounds, leaving only seven of us, but at that moment, Voldemort's magically magnified voice echoes ominously through Hogwarts, calling a ceasefire for one hour.

There's no point in continuing to circle the tower. We descend slowly, wearily, toward a caved-in section of the roof and dismount our brooms in a ruined sixth-floor corridor. The Ravenclaws immediately head back for their tower and the Hufflepuff makes his way toward the basement, leaving Alicia, Angelina, Katie and I huddled in a small circle.

I look myself over, not having had any opportunity to assess mine or anyone else's condition, or even felt any pain, up to that point. The hem of my robes is torn from grazing a tree branch with which I had barely avoided a collision. There are cuts on both of my legs from flying shrapnel and a bruise on my right shoulder. A burn mark on my left wrist guard is a reminder of a close call with a hex that I couldn't identify. Nothing that I can't heal or repair myself, though. I can easily be back in the air in one hour.

Of my three teammates, Alicia is the best off, almost unscathed except for a few scratches on her cheek and small tears on her robes. Angelina, by contrast, looks as if she's fought half of the battle herself. A large area of the back side of her robes is burnt, along with part of her hair, and she's missing both sleeves, revealing arms covered in small but bloody incisions. Katie's state is similar to mine, although she has no burn marks on either arm.

"We'd better get you to the Great Hall, Angelina," Alicia suggests concernedly. "Come on, someone can treat your wounds there." As I hastily swish my wand to heal the cuts on my legs, Katie is murmuring a soft incantation, waving her wand slowly up and down Angelina's arms. The unusual incisions stop bleeding, but don't close completely.

Unexpectedly, the memory of the moment before the battle surfaces, and I suppress it with some difficulty.

"Katie, your legs," I point out. She's still examining Angelina's arms, contemplating a solution, so I use my own wand to heal her.

"Thanks," she replies gently, a hint of a blush on her face.

"Let's get downstairs already," pipes up Alicia, lifting an arm to support Angelina by her shoulder. I move to support her other side, and we make our way slowly down the spiral staircase to the Great Hall in silence.

When we arrive in the Great Hall, Alicia accompanies Angelina to the healers while Katie spots Leanne, who is nursing a broken arm, and stops to talk with her, leaving me to wander about, searching for anyone that I might know. Then I spot Neville Longbottom near the doors, struggling to lift a body on his own, and I immediately proceed to lend him a hand.

I end up spending more than half an hour helping to deal with the fatalities of the battle, mostly younger students, some of whose faces seem familiar but I can't identify. Only one of the bodies leaves a painful, burning hole in my memory – Professor Lupin.

According to Longbottom, he'd died a true hero, refusing treatment for his injuries so that he could defend a group of students from Antonin Dolohov. My mind drifts back to N.E.W.T. Defence Against the Dark Arts in seventh year and how Lupin had been the only competent teacher in the subject that I had ever studied under, but now even he is among the fallen. I lay his body down gently next to that of his wife and struggle to hold back tears.

My shock at Lupin's death is nothing compared to what I felt when I saw the body two rows over, though.

Fred.

I stop in my tracks, disbelieving, until the reality sinks in. However, it's not the sight of Fred in itself that is the most despairing, but the sight of those around him.

George, defeated and completely broken. Mr and Mrs Weasley, holding each other close and sobbing quietly. Ron, beside himself with rage and restrained by Percy and Hermione. And Angelina, who'd always been so strong, drowning in tears.

I couldn't bear to watch any longer. More importantly, only ten minutes remain until the end of the ceasefire, and we need to be ready to fight. I don't have the heart to pull Angelina away from her grieving, so I motion to Katie and Alicia, who join me without a word. We trudge up the stairs one by one, exhausted and forlorn. The atmosphere in the corridors is sombre, surviving defenders manning their positions silently. We climb higher and higher, to a corridor on the seventh floor where most of the tall windows have been blown out.

Below, the sounds of combat renew.

The three of us are preparing to deploy when Alicia states that doing so would be pointless because the entire battle seems to have moved inside.

"This way, then." Katie points to the end of the corridor. "The fighting is probably around the Great Hall." We hurry in that direction, emerging at the top of the Grand Staircase.

Most of the action is taking place on the first and second floors below – several duels have already broken out – and it's almost as if Hogwarts itself has a hand in repelling the invaders, as I observe a Death Eater being crushed between two moving stairs.

Unfortunately, since it's been a few years since I've scaled the Grand Staircase, some of the intricacies have slipped my mind. The section of stair on which Alicia and I are standing suddenly swings left, stranding Katie on the seventh-floor landing.

"It's okay!" she calls, reassuring us and proceeding to another stair adjacent to the wall. "Meet you on the fifth floor!"

I wave to her as Alicia's and my stair completes its ninety-degree rotation and we continue downward. It takes a surprising amount of effort to reach even the sixth floor as the stairs are shifting in unpredictable patterns and even faster than usual.

When we reach an intermediate landing between the fifth and sixth floors, Alicia and I pause momentarily, out of breath. I glance around to check Katie's progress and my stomach drops.

She's all the way on the other side, duelling a Death Eater who's somehow reached the sixth floor.

I take a deep breath. Katie's easily holding her own, even though her opponent towers over her. He looks to be at least half a head taller than me, even. Alicia and I try to aim at him, but he's on a stair traversing a half arc very quickly and it's too difficult to bring our wands to bear.

Katie cries something indistinct and the Death Eater reels, dropping his mask and using his left hand to rub frantically at his eyes. Conjunctivitis Curse. Nice shot.

Hang on, is that who I think it is?

Flint! That's Marcus Flint!

Flint staggers back to his feet, counterattacking with a jinx that Katie deflects using one of her own as she yells insults at him. Then I notice that Katie's literally backing herself into a corner – a landing currently accessible by only a single stair.

"Katie!" I shout, waving desperately. "Watch your back!" However, she's too focused on her duel, whirling nimbly to avoid another spell, and fails to hear my warning, only realising her tactical situation when she backs onto the carpet of the landing and chances a look behind her. The momentary distraction is all it takes for Flint to launch a Stunning Spell. Attempting a Shield Charm, she manages to wave her wand in a quarter arc, but the Stunning Spell only refracts at a slight angle and breaches the incomplete shield, striking Katie in the shoulder and throwing her into the wall.

No!

Flint! You're a dead man!

Instantly, I'm consumed with indescribable rage that I've never felt before; it overwhelms every rational thought and I swing my wand in a motion like a particularly forceful Quaffle throw, roaring the first incantation that comes to mind.

"_REDUCTO!_"

My wand discharges a brilliant azure beam that disintegrates Flint in a blinding flash. I lower my arm wearily.

Alicia is already trying to make her way to where Katie has collapsed. I stumble after her, completely out of breath. We spend several minutes trying to reach the corner landing, but Katie's already managed to recover by the time we arrive.

"I'm alright," she reassures, picking up her wand from where it had been flung. "That was Flint, wasn't it? What happened?"

I contemplate the blast mark in the wall behind where Flint had been standing. There's nothing left of my Quidditch-rival-turned-enemy.

"He Stunned you," I explain after a pause, turning back to face her. "I er…lost my temper for a bit and hit him with the Reductor Curse. You sure you're fine?"

"Of course," she replies, standing up fully. "I think I managed to block most of that spell, but part of it got through."

Alicia, Katie, and I peek over the damaged railing. Duels are still being fought in the lower levels, but there are fewer than before.

"Let's go," beckons Alicia.

We manage to descend all the way to the fourth floor without incident, but when we reach the end of the next stair section, Rodolphus Lestrange is standing in our way, smirking maliciously.

Damn it.

He opens his attack with a rapid volley of hexes, immediately forcing us onto the defensive despite him being outnumbered three-to-one, and we're forced back one step at a time as the stair begins a one hundred eighty degree oscillation. Alicia uses a Shield Charm to deflect two hexes and they impact the railing, showering us in stone dust. I fire a Stunning Spell that intercepts one of Lestrange's spells in a burst of red sparks. Katie aims a Reductor Curse at the stair beneath his feet, but it's parried to the side with a backhand motion and destroys a large lantern.

My heel slips slightly on carpet. It's the main fourth floor landing. Lestrange continues to advance, sending a curse over my head which leaves a crater in the wall. I make a motion to retreat up the staircase on the right, but Katie stops me with a nudge.

"No!" she hisses, "Stay – _Protego!_ – together! We can't defeat him if we split up."

I'm too busy to argue with Katie right now.

When our feet are safely on the next set of stairs, I try to buy some time by Transfiguring the carpet on the landing into a pool of fire, but Lestrange somehow extinguishes it after blocking Katie's and Alicia's jinxes simultaneously. He shoots a curse straight at my head and I'm forced to evade it by ducking.

"_Protego!_" My Shield Charm absorbs the follow-up shot and the stairs tremble with the force of the blast, nearly compromising my balance, but I jump back to avoid the trick step just in time.

For some reason, Lestrange seems to be concentrating most of his attacks on me. I may be taller and stronger than Katie and Alicia, but he should really know better than to underestimate the two women.

A stray curse shatters the large vase in a nearby alcove, sending deadly shards of ceramic in our direction. With a flick of my wand, I turn the fragments into longbow arrows and direct them at Lestrange, who forces a strong wind from his wand to blow them aside. Katie raises another Shield Charm to deflect the rest of the shrapnel.

This isn't going anywhere. We can't stay on the defensive all day.

Abruptly, the stairs beneath Lestrange's feet pivot left, tripping him and stranding him on the previous landing while we're situated almost a whole floor up. Still, he manages to block Katie's hex and send a Blasting Curse at us, which I match with my own.

That really wasn't the best idea.

The two Blasting Curses make contact in mid-air, causing a massive explosion that knocks Katie, Alicia, and I to the ground and fills the Grand Staircase with smoke and dust. I cough profusely, trying to clear the obstruction in my lungs. Even worse, I can't even see past the railing, to say nothing of locating our foe.

"Ah!" Alicia is the first to her feet as the lower stair section completes its rotation, but she collapses with a surprised gasp, hit by a spell flying out of the smoke. It's the Leg-Locker Curse – she's on the floor, lower body frozen, though still rolls onto her side to reach for her wand.

A strong gust clears the air instantly. I realise too late that it's Lestrange's wind spell; he's charging directly up at us, wand raised –

The Death Eater swears as he stumbles, leg caught in the trick step.

It's the window of opportunity that we need so desperately.

"_Aguamenti!_" The water that shoots from my wand tip isn't a gentle stream, but a powerful, high-pressure jet that sends Lestrange flying. He crashes to the fourth-floor landing with a loud crunch.

"Katie, come on!"

Katie and I advance quickly down the stairs. We have no time to undo the curse on Alicia right now; we need to finish this duel as soon as possible. We're twenty steps from the landing when Lestrange picks himself up, wand in his left hand as his wand arm is obviously broken from the impact. A twisted scowl crosses his bloodied face as he raises his wand.

"_Avada Kedavra!_"

My reflexes and Keeper instincts engage before his incantation is even completed. I dive to the left for the floor, pulling Katie close with my left arm. The Killing Curse zooms past, impacting on the far wall.

Lestrange sneers and limps slowly toward us, and I pull Katie underneath me to shield her, then brace for the inevitable.

"_Expelliarmus!_"

A jet of red light from above strikes Lestrange in the head; his wand launches itself forcefully from his hand and flies upward over us. I whip my head up.

Alicia has managed to crawl on her hands to the edge of the fifth-floor landing above us. She grins triumphantly, easily catching Lestrange's wand in her left hand. I roll out of my position immediately, bringing my wand around to bear on the enemy, but Katie reacts even faster.

"_Stupefy!_" she cries. Her spell hits Lestrange in the chest, blasting him over the railing, and the Death Eater meets his demise on the stone floor five levels below.

See, it's never a good idea to underestimate those two.

Katie and I stare at each other somewhat disbelievingly for several seconds before I help her up and we head back to the fifth floor to undo the Leg-Locker Curse on Alicia. The three of us, utterly exhausted, stay at the landing to rest. I sit leaning against the wall, my arm around Katie, who rests her head on my shoulder. Alicia lays on her back on the torn carpet, stretching both of her legs.

We're relaxing quietly, enjoying the moment of tranquillity, when an unexpected sound blares from my robes and we jump in surprise. I pull my Quidditch Captain badge from my pocket. It's sounding the all clear.

The all clear.

That has only one meaning.

"Harry's done it!" I exclaim excitedly, silencing my badge. "We've done it! We won!"

Katie and Alicia sit up, look at me for a second, and let out joyous cheers. As Katie embraces me tightly, I finally release my thoughts to run free.

_Today will bring hope._

_I'm okay._

_Harry did it._

_We've won the battle._

There's definitely one more.

_Katie's okay._

Suddenly, I no longer feel exhausted. Neither do Katie and Alicia, it seems. Together, we walk down the remaining stairs toward the Great Hall, where celebrations are just beginning. I sit briefly and share breakfast with Professor McGonagall, Ernie Macmillan, and Hestia Jones, but I've never really enjoyed parties too much, so I excuse myself after the third piece of toast, head outside, and take to the air.

There is a time and a place for flying fast, but it's not now or here. I glide in a leisurely loop around the castle and take deep breaths of the morning air. The grounds are strewn with the casualties of both sides, parts of the castle have collapsed, and smoke still rises from a few areas that had been heavily contested, but it's still breathtakingly beautiful. The lake, sheathed in mist like shimmering gossamer. Gryffindor Tower, still standing proudly, victoriously, windows gleaming in the morning sun like diamonds. The sun itself, rising over the distant mountains into a cloudless sky as if it, too, is finally free.

As I start my third loop, someone approaches from below. It's Katie, who comes up alongside and takes my hand without a word. We fly another cycle together, watching the sun rise. She lets go of my hand when we are above the Entrance Hall once again.

"Oliver?" Her voice is calm, melodic, hopeful.

"Yeah?"

"Catch me if you can!" She gives me a playful shove and dashes away, giggling.

Oh, I'm not losing this time.

Flattening myself to my broom handle, I immediately accelerate in pursuit, using my broom's speed advantage to close with her quickly. I reach out to tap her shoulder but she rolls at the last moment and I brush nothing but the air.

And suddenly, the two of us are darting, whirling, _soaring_ in our own unique little courtship dance. I pull up to ascend and the feeling is exhilarating and – for the first time in months – I hear my own laughter.

We finally draw together again somewhere over the lakeshore and we simply hover in place, holding each other as closely as two people on broomsticks possibly can. Her eyes meet mine and we close the remaining distance between us.

And we soar.

**End**

* * *

><p>Note: I've always wondered why Oliver was in the Room of Requirement with Alicia, Angelina and Katie for the final battle, since he was obviously never in the DA and therefore wouldn't have been notified like the other three. I like to think that he joined the Order of the Phoenix at some point, which would explain his presence there (and also the fact that both times the Order came to get Harry from the Dursleys, they did so by flying).<p> 


End file.
